by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders switched agents, going from Andy Miller of ASM Sports to Happy Walters and Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports â?? just before Sanders signed a four-year, $44 million extension.

Miller doesn't like how that deal went down.

Miller and ASM Sports in a complaint filed Friday in Supreme Court of the State of New York County of New York accused agents Walters and Fegan and others of improperly stealing Sanders. Miller's attorneys said in the complaint that the "defendants' conduct is not only immoral and unethical it is actionable for which they must answer in damages."

Miller is asking for nearly $6 million in compensatory and punitive damages and alleges the defendants "through the use of private planes, celebrity encounters and hedonistic parties â?¦ seduced plaintiffs' client to terminate his contract with plaintiffs and sign with the Relativity defendants' agency."

In a statement, Relativity Sports said: "Our company policy is not to comment on pending litigation. Larry Sanders returned to the Relativity Sports family and we believe our work on his behalf speaks for itself."

Incidentally, Miller was ordered by an arbitrator to pay agent Keith Glass $40,000 in 2010 for tampering with former NBA player Quincy Douby. The arbitrator stated that Miller reached an agreement with Douby while Douby was still represented by Glass.

The world of sports and entertainment agents is a competitive business â?? cutthroat at best and unseemly at worst. It also can be very lucrative. An agent makes 4 percent on a player's NBA contract and even more on non-NBA player contracts with endorsers such as shoe companies and sports drinks manufacturers.

Fegan and Miller are both high-profile agents, and Walters has landed his share of prominent clients, including Amar'e Stoudemire. Fegan represents Dwight Howard, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Ricky Rubio, among several other NBA players. Miller represents Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups, Jamal Crawford and Serge Ibaka among others.

According to HoopsHype, Relativity Sports has more than $169 million in player contracts this season, and Miller has more than $127 million.

The complaint alleges Relativity Sports "made promises to people close to Sanders, including â?¦ a childhood friend â?¦ and an ex-girlfriend, to influence Sanders and allow the Relativity Defendants to gain Sanders' confidence and trust. Once they had that trust, they abused it, making misrepresentations to Sanders about his worth as a 'max player' and making false promises to Sanders. The Relativity Defendants additionally swayed Sanders with flights on private planes, expensive dinners, invites to pre-ESPY awards parties, acting classes and trips to Disneyland for his family."

Miller says in the suit he and his firm lost out on $1.64 million in agent fees and even more in other endorsements. Miller said he was close to reaching a new shoe endorsement deal with Nike for Sanders.

The complaint had pointed words for Relativity Sports, "saying the misconduct of the Relativity Defendants described herein is hardly an isolated event. To the contrary, the Relativity Defendants are well-known among the top sports agents for stealing clients on the eve of a contract, after all of the hard lifting has been done by others, by false promises and other nefarious tactics. A strong message needs to be sent to the Relativity Defendants that such actions have consequences."

In 2010, Sanders signed Walters as his agent, but the two parted ways after the 2010-11 season, according to the complaint. Sanders then signed Miller, and Miller claims he helped Sanders improve, putting Sanders in position to sign a four-year extension worth more than $40 million.

After Miller negotiated a four-year, $41 million deal for Sanders with the Bucks on July 25, Miller said he received a termination letter from Sanders the next day. Walters and Fegan managed to increase the deal by $3 million.